Bradford pop star Gareth Gates returned to his former school with singer and actor Jonathan Wilkes to officially open their new theatre academy.

Budding performers at Dixons City Academy were yesterday signing up for the Gates&Wilkes Academy, which was opened by the two stars.

The academy will be run at the school by Gareth and Jonathan, along with their wives Suzanne and Nikki, who will be offering master-classes on singing, dancing and acting.

Gareth, who made his name as runner-up on ITV’s Pop Idol and followed this up with four number one singles, decided to form the academy with Jonathan as their wives had worked together as dancers for stars such as Beyonce, Robbie Williams and Cher.

He said: “Because I came to this school as well, I’m friends with most of the teachers and I’ve kept in touch, particularly with the music department, so we wanted to give something back.”

Classes will be split into three age groups; five to eight, nine to 12 and 13 to 18.

In recent years, Gareth, 27, has become a musical theatre leading man, starring in Joseph And His Technicolor Dreamcoat and Les Miserables, while Jonathan has also starred in West End Musicals.